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So, it has been awhile since I have updated this. I guess it was just easier to email all of my family and friends because the internet in Mcar was too slow to even create a weblog entry. But, anyways.. I was evacuated from Madagascar and the Peace Corps program was suspended on March 18, 2009. This was right before the President was overthrown by the opposition party who had gained the support of the military. As of today, there is still no agreement between all of the fueding sides, and the UN and SADC have sent negotiators and mediators to help settle the political instablity there. The international community has called the takeover a "coup" and frozen any foriegn aid because of it. There has also been complaints of stifled freedom of the press there, as well as other human rights complaints. But, the only concern in the American news is for the animal species and rainforest that is in danger because of the politcal instability. DOESN'T ANYONE REALIZE THAT PEOPLE LIVE THERE TOO! IT IS NOT LIkE THE MOVIE THERE! Recently, there have been uncoverings of hundreds of homemade bombs, and radical sections of the Pro-Ravalomanana have been accused of attacking the current transitional governements leader, Andry's, radio station and were shot and killed while breaking in.Alright, frustration aside.. I just wanted to share with you an email that I sent out to everyone to explain what evacuation was like. So, enjoy. My dearest friends and family, I'm extremely sad to write that Peace Corps Madagascar has been suspended until the political instability resolves itself. All 113 volunteers have been flown to South Africa to complete the paper work to end our service. I was on the first flight over and there is one flight everyday for the next four days of volunteers coming in. Yesterday, one part of the military said they were going to take control of the government if the two parties didn't resolve their conflict that was leading to military mutiny's which allowed looting of property in the capital in the past few weeks. Then, yesterday the military said they had access to tanks to use if need be. Then today the opposition party leader declared himself in charge of the government and took over the remaining ministry office and installed a prime minister. The President still asserts that he is in charge and that the opposition leader has no constitutional authority. Andry, the opposition leader, says that the sentate and house of parliment have no authority and that the "transitional" government will write a plan to hold new elections within the next 24 months. Now, all of that sounds scary and like it is unsafe there. But, on the contrary, I drove through the capital last night and everyone was walking home from school and work as usual... all markets and shops were open and you couldn't even tell that any of this was going on. Most of the Malagasy people I know that live outside of Tana think that this is just a few stupid people in Tana supporting Andry because they don't like their positions in life. The majority of people want this to just fade out and wait for the next election, like they democratically should do. Especially people in my town... people go to work and school as usual and just ignore the annoyances of the happenings in Tana. Many people still support the President, even if they are angry with his practices. They don't think that he has done enough wrong to constitute a coup d'etat. Many people think the French newspapers are making the opposition party seem like they have more supporters and reporting things wrong because they would gain from closer contacts to a Malagasy leader, which was not happening with the current President, who was moving farther and farther away from French relations. Many Malagasy people talk about how French companies want to have good governmental relations with M/car so they can exploit the mining and tourism opportunities there. So, as I see it.. life here is normal outside of the capital, and even in the capital outside of times when there are protests. There is NO PHYSICAL FIGHTING between the two sides because the opposition party is trying to start trouble by creating public haovic. On Thursday, I got called at 8 at night by our Admin Officer saying that we had to evacuate. I was up all night packing up my house and organzing my belongings. The next day, I exhaustedly informed my coworkers that I had to leave and could not finish out the school year. Then, I tearfully said goodbye to my students, who will now be without an English teacher for the rest of the school year. I bawled for a good 24 hours, and raced around town trying to say goodbye to everyone. meanwhile, all of the volunteers in the area consolidated at my site. Then, on Friday morning, a Peace Corps car drove us out of my town and to Mantasoa where everyone but me got out of the car and stayed overnight there. I continued on to Tana, and arrived at 8pm and headed straight to the office to finish out some paper work, and then the medical office. Then, this morning at 7am we left for the airport and I am now here in Johannesburg, SA. I am exhausted, depressed, worried about my second country, and disappointed to see my home for the past two years deterioate into this situation. NONE of my friends or students understood why I was leaving, and were crying hysterically when I said goodbye to them. MY TOWN WAS NEVER DANGEROUS... or even INVOLVED in the unrest. It's been an extremely difficult past few days. In the next week, I will be staying in a hotel in JoBurg as we are all being forced to end our service. The people who are less than a year into their service have the option of transfering to another country, going back to the US and waiting for the possibility of returning to M/car to finish out their serivce, or simple going home and finishing their service. I, however, don't have that many options since my finish of service date was supposed to be July 1, 2009. I can only close my service. I want so bad to return to M/car within the next year, when things calm down or are resolved, so I can see all of my friends and dogs and family and have a proper goodbye. Many of you will never understand why it is so hard for me to return back to the US a few months early. But, just think of how it would feel to just up and leave your life and never see anyone or anything in it again. I LOVE MADAGASCAR... I LOVE IT THERE, and my experience there has CHANGED me forever. I know that it will always be with me, and I try to keep in mind that I can try to save up money to come back to vacation here. But, that doesnt mean I will live here again. Its just a hard transition.. so please understand my non-excitedness to return to the US. I love you all and look forward to restarting my life with you. Please email me, because I will have internet for the next week. I will leave you with a malagasy proverb that my best friend in m/car said to me as I left. She said, "boribory ny tany dia hifakahita indray isika" which means... "because the world is round, we will meet again someday". so, I will see you all soon. hugs,danielle

For example, some of the things I've gotten used to and don't think twice about anymore.... 1) Sleeping on a sponge mattress supported by lake reeds as a bed. 2) Flea bites covering your body after a good nights sleep. 3) Daily sweeping up of bat poop that falls from your ceiling/roof. 4) 23 hour taxi brousse rides with 14 people crammed into a minivan while kids puke beside you, and a creepy man falls asleep on your shoulder. 5) Women pulling out their breasts to feed their babies (or toddlers) in the post office, bank, market, or taxi brousse. 6) Men, women, kids and elderly squatting on the side of the road to relieve themselves at the “rest stops” during a long taxi brousse ride. 7) Taxi brousses running out of gas on the way to the predetermined destination and having to siphon gas out of a passing car after waiting 2 hours for any car to pass. 8) Eating rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Everyday. For 2 years. 9) Standing up while going to the bathroom. It now feels weird to sit, so a toilet shall magically appear, I still stand while using it out of habit. 10) Watching women carry a bucket of water in their hand, with their babies strapped to their backs with a cloth, all while balancing a basket of heavy market purchases on their head. All without spilling a drop of water. Talk about multitasking! 11) Men driving motorcycles or bicycles with 3 children on the handlebars, courier rack and frame, without even the slightest fear that it could be dangerous.

For example, some of the things I've gotten used to and don't think twice about anymore.... 1) Sleeping on a sponge mattress supported by lake reeds as a bed. 2) Flea bites covering your body after a good nights sleep. 3) Daily sweeping up of bat poop that falls from your ceiling/roof. 4) 23 hour taxi brousse rides with 14 people crammed into a minivan while kids puke beside you, and a creepy man falls asleep on your shoulder. 5) Women pulling out their breasts to feed their babies (or toddlers) in the post office, bank, market, or taxi brousse. 6) Men, women, kids and elderly squatting on the side of the road to relieve themselves at the “rest stops” during a long taxi brousse ride. 7) Taxi brousses running out of gas on the way to the predetermined destination and having to siphon gas out of a passing car after waiting 2 hours for any car to pass. 8) Eating rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Everyday. For 2 years. 9) Standing up while going to the bathroom. It now feels weird to sit, so a toilet shall magically appear, I still stand while using it out of habit. 10) Watching women carry a bucket of water in their hand, with their babies strapped to their backs with a cloth, all while balancing a basket of heavy market purchases on their head. All without spilling a drop of water. Talk about multitasking! 11) Men driving motorcycles or bicycles with 3 children on the handlebars, courier rack and frame, without even the slightest fear that it could be dangerous.

1) Over Easter vacation I got hit in the head by a cow stump that had recently been slaughtered and sold in the market. No skin, just fresh bloody flesh smacking every so gently against my forehead. Mmm…. Beef. 2) Parasy: Or, little fleas that live in the dust and sand. They burrow underneath your skin on your feet and lay eggs inside you. You have to break the skin to release the flea sac, or else once hatched the baby fleas will come back to your foot to lay their own eggs. I have to say, I kind of enjoy picking out the egg sac now. 3) Cockroaches love my house. So much so that I’ve made a fun game out of hunting down their eggs before they hatch so they won’t take over my house. One day I drank some juice out of a cup and with a refreshing “Ahhh” looked down into my cup to see a cockroach egg stuck to the side of it. I now check before pouring anything into cups. 4) I have had giardia nine times already. That doesn’t sound so gross until you realize that giardia is caused by ingesting fecal matter. Basically it means I have ingested things that have been through someone or somethings intestines and out of their anus on NINE separate occasions. Gotta love Peace Corps. 5) Bugs get into everything here, from sugar jars to rice. We PCV’s have devised a timeline to label how long we have been here based on this. If a bug is in your drink:Stage 1: Stop drinking, throw out the drink and get a new cup.Stage 2: Throw out the drink and bug but use the same cup.Stage 3: Pick the bug out of the drink and continue drinking.Stage 4: Continue drinking… that’s added protein. 6) The street sellers here don’t havef dish washers. Heck, most don’t even have running water. But, they use a basin of water all day long to wash little coffee mugs or juice cups in. After someone uses a cup they throw it in the murky water and use animal fat based soap and a 3 month old sponge to “wash” it and then give it to the next customer still wet.

1) Over Easter vacation I got hit in the head by a cow stump that had recently been slaughtered and sold in the market. No skin, just fresh bloody flesh smacking every so gently against my forehead. Mmm…. Beef. 2) Parasy: Or, little fleas that live in the dust and sand. They burrow underneath your skin on your feet and lay eggs inside you. You have to break the skin to release the flea sac, or else once hatched the baby fleas will come back to your foot to lay their own eggs. I have to say, I kind of enjoy picking out the egg sac now. 3) Cockroaches love my house. So much so that I’ve made a fun game out of hunting down their eggs before they hatch so they won’t take over my house. One day I drank some juice out of a cup and with a refreshing “Ahhh” looked down into my cup to see a cockroach egg stuck to the side of it. I now check before pouring anything into cups. 4) I have had giardia nine times already. That doesn’t sound so gross until you realize that giardia is caused by ingesting fecal matter. Basically it means I have ingested things that have been through someone or somethings intestines and out of their anus on NINE separate occasions. Gotta love Peace Corps. 5) Bugs get into everything here, from sugar jars to rice. We PCV’s have devised a timeline to label how long we have been here based on this. If a bug is in your drink:Stage 1: Stop drinking, throw out the drink and get a new cup.Stage 2: Throw out the drink and bug but use the same cup.Stage 3: Pick the bug out of the drink and continue drinking.Stage 4: Continue drinking… that’s added protein. 6) The street sellers here don’t havef dish washers. Heck, most don’t even have running water. But, they use a basin of water all day long to wash little coffee mugs or juice cups in. After someone uses a cup they throw it in the murky water and use animal fat based soap and a 3 month old sponge to “wash” it and then give it to the next customer still wet.

For example, some of the things I've gotten used to and don't think twice about anymore.... 1) Sleeping on a sponge mattress supported by lake reeds as a bed. 2) Flea bites covering your body after a good nights sleep. 3) Daily sweeping up of bat poop that falls from your ceiling/roof. 4) 23 hour taxi brousse rides with 14 people crammed into a minivan while kids puke beside you, and a creepy man falls asleep on your shoulder. 5) Women pulling out their breasts to feed their babies (or toddlers) in the post office, bank, market, or taxi brousse. 6) Men, women, kids and elderly squatting on the side of the road to relieve themselves at the “rest stops” during a long taxi brousse ride. 7) Taxi brousses running out of gas on the way to the predetermined destination and having to siphon gas out of a passing car after waiting 2 hours for any car to pass. 8) Eating rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Everyday. For 2 years. 9) Standing up while going to the bathroom. It now feels weird to sit, so a toilet shall magically appear, I still stand while using it out of habit. 10) Watching women carry a bucket of water in their hand, with their babies strapped to their backs with a cloth, all while balancing a basket of heavy market purchases on their head. All without spilling a drop of water. Talk about multitasking! 11) Men driving motorcycles or bicycles with 3 children on the handlebars, courier rack and frame, without even the slightest fear that it could be dangerous.

1) Over Easter vacation I got hit in the head by a cow stump that had recently been slaughtered and sold in the market. No skin, just fresh bloody flesh smacking every so gently against my forehead. Mmm…. Beef. 2) Parasy: Or, little fleas that live in the dust and sand. They burrow underneath your skin on your feet and lay eggs inside you. You have to break the skin to release the flea sac, or else once hatched the baby fleas will come back to your foot to lay their own eggs. I have to say, I kind of enjoy picking out the egg sac now. 3) Cockroaches love my house. So much so that I’ve made a fun game out of hunting down their eggs before they hatch so they won’t take over my house. One day I drank some juice out of a cup and with a refreshing “Ahhh” looked down into my cup to see a cockroach egg stuck to the side of it. I now check before pouring anything into cups. 4) I have had giardia nine times already. That doesn’t sound so gross until you realize that giardia is caused by ingesting fecal matter. Basically it means I have ingested things that have been through someone or somethings intestines and out of their anus on NINE separate occasions. Gotta love Peace Corps. 5) Bugs get into everything here, from sugar jars to rice. We PCV’s have devised a timeline to label how long we have been here based on this. If a bug is in your drink:Stage 1: Stop drinking, throw out the drink and get a new cup.Stage 2: Throw out the drink and bug but use the same cup.Stage 3: Pick the bug out of the drink and continue drinking.Stage 4: Continue drinking… that’s added protein. 6) The street sellers here don’t havef dish washers. Heck, most don’t even have running water. But, they use a basin of water all day long to wash little coffee mugs or juice cups in. After someone uses a cup they throw it in the murky water and use animal fat based soap and a 3 month old sponge to “wash” it and then give it to the next customer still wet.

I loaded pics on here.. JUST CLICK ON PHOTOS. LOOK ABOVE!!!!

I loaded pics on here.. JUST CLICK ON PHOTOS. LOOK ABOVE!!!!

October 6, 2007 So yesterday I had the worst and best experience thus far of my adventure here in madagascar, all in one day! In the morning I woke up to go teach at 7am and noticed that there was an assembly going on by the office of the school. All of the students were lined up outside, military style, listening to the proviseur give announcements. He said that the new stairs that were being built were almost finished, and that the people from a small island just off the coast of Madagascar, called Reunion, were giong to play a basketball game against the teachers that afternoon. He then pointed at me and said I would be playing... and since I was an American that the other team was really scared of me because I am really good. Ha.. luckily, I actually know how to play. Then he had one of the old women teachers come up to the microphone and she called out a boys name to come up to the top balcony. I thought he was going to be rewarded for something. But, instead he was pulled by the ear and then smacked across the head by the proviseur. Evidently he had seen this teacher in the market, FAR FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL, and he had not said hi to her, or addressed her. Then they called out to the student crowd for the girl that was with him while he commited this act of disrespect. She shyly came up the stairs and the seemingly nice old lady wound up and slapped her across the face. This was in front of the entire school. I almost started crying. I was shocked, appauled, scared... and felt so bad for these students. I could not believe that they were hitting the students.. and for such a stupid reason. Imagine seeing one of your teachers outside of school, like at the grocery store and not saying hi, and getting to school the next day to be hit by the principal or that teacher. Its just crazy. People here think its ok to hit kids.. and they don’t understand why it upsets me so much. So after that I went to my class to teach.. and still shaken up I promised them that I would NEVER ever hit them. That afternoon, I donned the school bball uniform and headed the outdoor court which is basically a big field of sand and dirt. The boundary lines were made of buried bricks and the hoops were just metal rigs attached to wooded backboards. The entire school was there to watch... I’m talking about 2500 students and 50 teachers. Probably the biggest crowd I”ve ever played in front of in my life. All of my students were there watching my every move. It was amazing though. Compared to them, I was michael jordan. As the only girl playing... I made sure to show that I could play the same or better than any male there to show the girls a little american gender equality! Ha! So, without braggin too much, I had a lot of assists, steals, and points, and I am now known as the basketball star in our school. Our team won easily and all of my students have a little more respect for me, which is kinda cool and kinda crazy. I am definitely settled here now and loving it, despite some of the things that are hard to understand culturally. Hugs to you all !!!

October 6, 2007 So yesterday I had the worst and best experience thus far of my adventure here in madagascar, all in one day! In the morning I woke up to go teach at 7am and noticed that there was an assembly going on by the office of the school. All of the students were lined up outside, military style, listening to the proviseur give announcements. He said that the new stairs that were being built were almost finished, and that the people from a small island just off the coast of Madagascar, called Reunion, were giong to play a basketball game against the teachers that afternoon. He then pointed at me and said I would be playing... and since I was an American that the other team was really scared of me because I am really good. Ha.. luckily, I actually know how to play. Then he had one of the old women teachers come up to the microphone and she called out a boys name to come up to the top balcony. I thought he was going to be rewarded for something. But, instead he was pulled by the ear and then smacked across the head by the proviseur. Evidently he had seen this teacher in the market, FAR FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL, and he had not said hi to her, or addressed her. Then they called out to the student crowd for the girl that was with him while he commited this act of disrespect. She shyly came up the stairs and the seemingly nice old lady wound up and slapped her across the face. This was in front of the entire school. I almost started crying. I was shocked, appauled, scared... and felt so bad for these students. I could not believe that they were hitting the students.. and for such a stupid reason. Imagine seeing one of your teachers outside of school, like at the grocery store and not saying hi, and getting to school the next day to be hit by the principal or that teacher. Its just crazy. People here think its ok to hit kids.. and they don’t understand why it upsets me so much. So after that I went to my class to teach.. and still shaken up I promised them that I would NEVER ever hit them. That afternoon, I donned the school bball uniform and headed the outdoor court which is basically a big field of sand and dirt. The boundary lines were made of buried bricks and the hoops were just metal rigs attached to wooded backboards. The entire school was there to watch... I’m talking about 2500 students and 50 teachers. Probably the biggest crowd I”ve ever played in front of in my life. All of my students were there watching my every move. It was amazing though. Compared to them, I was michael jordan. As the only girl playing... I made sure to show that I could play the same or better than any male there to show the girls a little american gender equality! Ha! So, without braggin too much, I had a lot of assists, steals, and points, and I am now known as the basketball star in our school. Our team won easily and all of my students have a little more respect for me, which is kinda cool and kinda crazy. I am definitely settled here now and loving it, despite some of the things that are hard to understand culturally. Hugs to you all !!!

I loaded pics on here.. JUST CLICK ON PHOTOS. LOOK ABOVE!!!!

October 6, 2007 So yesterday I had the worst and best experience thus far of my adventure here in madagascar, all in one day! In the morning I woke up to go teach at 7am and noticed that there was an assembly going on by the office of the school. All of the students were lined up outside, military style, listening to the proviseur give announcements. He said that the new stairs that were being built were almost finished, and that the people from a small island just off the coast of Madagascar, called Reunion, were giong to play a basketball game against the teachers that afternoon. He then pointed at me and said I would be playing... and since I was an American that the other team was really scared of me because I am really good. Ha.. luckily, I actually know how to play. Then he had one of the old women teachers come up to the microphone and she called out a boys name to come up to the top balcony. I thought he was going to be rewarded for something. But, instead he was pulled by the ear and then smacked across the head by the proviseur. Evidently he had seen this teacher in the market, FAR FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL, and he had not said hi to her, or addressed her. Then they called out to the student crowd for the girl that was with him while he commited this act of disrespect. She shyly came up the stairs and the seemingly nice old lady wound up and slapped her across the face. This was in front of the entire school. I almost started crying. I was shocked, appauled, scared... and felt so bad for these students. I could not believe that they were hitting the students.. and for such a stupid reason. Imagine seeing one of your teachers outside of school, like at the grocery store and not saying hi, and getting to school the next day to be hit by the principal or that teacher. Its just crazy. People here think its ok to hit kids.. and they don’t understand why it upsets me so much. So after that I went to my class to teach.. and still shaken up I promised them that I would NEVER ever hit them. That afternoon, I donned the school bball uniform and headed the outdoor court which is basically a big field of sand and dirt. The boundary lines were made of buried bricks and the hoops were just metal rigs attached to wooded backboards. The entire school was there to watch... I’m talking about 2500 students and 50 teachers. Probably the biggest crowd I”ve ever played in front of in my life. All of my students were there watching my every move. It was amazing though. Compared to them, I was michael jordan. As the only girl playing... I made sure to show that I could play the same or better than any male there to show the girls a little american gender equality! Ha! So, without braggin too much, I had a lot of assists, steals, and points, and I am now known as the basketball star in our school. Our team won easily and all of my students have a little more respect for me, which is kinda cool and kinda crazy. I am definitely settled here now and loving it, despite some of the things that are hard to understand culturally. Hugs to you all !!!

Here is a little taste (you like that pun?) of the food I eat daily....So, Malagasy people eat a lot of rice; actually of any culture in the world, they eat the most per capita, even more than china!! They typically eat 1/2 kg or uncooked rice per person per day!! They eat rice three times a day, everyday. They usually have it with a sidedish called a "loaka" and sometimes a third salad type thing to put on rice called a "lasary". They eat all three meals wtih their family and get a 2-3 hour lunch break from school to go home and eat lunch. All of their food is made from fresh foods they get at the market everyday. There is even a verb that means "to go to the market". Most peoples daily small talk is about what kind of sidedish they will have wth their rice. Will it be beans and pork? Or green beans and beef? Or water cress and peanuts, which is absolute favorite!!! I rule at making it. The lasarys are either tomatoe, carrot, or cucumber.. and all are chopped up veggies wtih a vinegerette dressing. I absolutely love the tomato kind, and actually crave it now... along with rice. Most malagasy say that it is impossible to be full after a meal if rice was not served. So... after starting a charcol-ish fire.. actually its charbone.... wood that is burried and burned underground until the outside creates a charcol-ish looking outside.... and they put it on a brickish small fire burner that sits on the ground. This is always the first part of the cooknig process.. except for me who is living the high life wtih a three burner countertop gas stove (no oven). Then the wife or daughther prepares the sidedish by cutting up meat, onions, garlic and cooking in a big metal pot. They she cleans and prepares the vegetables and adds them to the cooked meat. While it finishes cooking the rice needs to be prepared. First you add kapokas "cups" of rice to a flat saucer shaped thing made out of straw type material. Then you shake it so you can pick out the seeds, rocks, and bad rice. Then you was the rice wtih water and add it to a pot and cook it for 30 minutes. The rice is in one bowl, the loaka in another and the lasary in a third as they are set out on the table to eat. My host family, and most people I have met here, pray before dinner. After the rice is taken out of the pot, the pot is put back on the burner to burn the rice and water is added and boiled to make a drink called "ranomapango" which is literally burnt rice water. It is the only thing that typical malagasy people drink, EVER!! They don't drink during meals.. which was a hard thing to adjust to.. but they have reason for it because they drink this type of water because they know it is healthy drinknig water since its been boiled. In my area of the country, there are tons of vegetables to buy... I LOVE going tot he market to pick out my loaka for the day. Tomatoes are plentiful here.. and cheap and delicious. I also have a lot of carrots, beans, zucchini, cucumbers, peas, green beans, cabbage, lettuce, and many types of water cress. My area of the country is also famous for its fish. The fish here are huge.... and I've seen many a malagasy save the best part of the fish for last: the head. The only part of the fish they don't eat is the bones. They eat the skin, fins, eyes, head.... everythign but the scales and bones. It takes me FOREVER to pick out all of the bones, but the taste of the fish meat, once finally in my mouth is well worth the effort. There are also tons of peanuts here, bananas, mandarine oranges, pineapple, coconuts (out of this world tasty), potatoes, and the one french import....loafs of bread. Baguettes to be exact. They are always stale... and there is no wheat bread, but it I'll take what I can get. The little street food vendors sell a lot of deep fried foods. There is deep fried bananas, deep fried fish, deep fried potatoes and chives, deep fried doughnuts and even deepfried bread. You can also buy candied peanuts and shredded coconut on the street and sugar cane to suck on. You can also buy fresh milk in the market before 8am which you have to boil before drinking... and small shops sell homemade yogurt which is to die for. So tasty. The cheese, coming from a wisconsinite, leaves a lot to be desired and is the only thing I miss besides cold milk and cereal. I have been forced to learn how to cook and its been a painful yet fruitful experience. I am slowly learning to be fully independent and can't wait to go back to the states and use my new skills!!!

Here is a little taste (you like that pun?) of the food I eat daily....So, Malagasy people eat a lot of rice; actually of any culture in the world, they eat the most per capita, even more than china!! They typically eat 1/2 kg or uncooked rice per person per day!! They eat rice three times a day, everyday. They usually have it with a sidedish called a "loaka" and sometimes a third salad type thing to put on rice called a "lasary". They eat all three meals wtih their family and get a 2-3 hour lunch break from school to go home and eat lunch. All of their food is made from fresh foods they get at the market everyday. There is even a verb that means "to go to the market". Most peoples daily small talk is about what kind of sidedish they will have wth their rice. Will it be beans and pork? Or green beans and beef? Or water cress and peanuts, which is absolute favorite!!! I rule at making it. The lasarys are either tomatoe, carrot, or cucumber.. and all are chopped up veggies wtih a vinegerette dressing. I absolutely love the tomato kind, and actually crave it now... along with rice. Most malagasy say that it is impossible to be full after a meal if rice was not served. So... after starting a charcol-ish fire.. actually its charbone.... wood that is burried and burned underground until the outside creates a charcol-ish looking outside.... and they put it on a brickish small fire burner that sits on the ground. This is always the first part of the cooknig process.. except for me who is living the high life wtih a three burner countertop gas stove (no oven). Then the wife or daughther prepares the sidedish by cutting up meat, onions, garlic and cooking in a big metal pot. They she cleans and prepares the vegetables and adds them to the cooked meat. While it finishes cooking the rice needs to be prepared. First you add kapokas "cups" of rice to a flat saucer shaped thing made out of straw type material. Then you shake it so you can pick out the seeds, rocks, and bad rice. Then you was the rice wtih water and add it to a pot and cook it for 30 minutes. The rice is in one bowl, the loaka in another and the lasary in a third as they are set out on the table to eat. My host family, and most people I have met here, pray before dinner. After the rice is taken out of the pot, the pot is put back on the burner to burn the rice and water is added and boiled to make a drink called "ranomapango" which is literally burnt rice water. It is the only thing that typical malagasy people drink, EVER!! They don't drink during meals.. which was a hard thing to adjust to.. but they have reason for it because they drink this type of water because they know it is healthy drinknig water since its been boiled. In my area of the country, there are tons of vegetables to buy... I LOVE going tot he market to pick out my loaka for the day. Tomatoes are plentiful here.. and cheap and delicious. I also have a lot of carrots, beans, zucchini, cucumbers, peas, green beans, cabbage, lettuce, and many types of water cress. My area of the country is also famous for its fish. The fish here are huge.... and I've seen many a malagasy save the best part of the fish for last: the head. The only part of the fish they don't eat is the bones. They eat the skin, fins, eyes, head.... everythign but the scales and bones. It takes me FOREVER to pick out all of the bones, but the taste of the fish meat, once finally in my mouth is well worth the effort. There are also tons of peanuts here, bananas, mandarine oranges, pineapple, coconuts (out of this world tasty), potatoes, and the one french import....loafs of bread. Baguettes to be exact. They are always stale... and there is no wheat bread, but it I'll take what I can get. The little street food vendors sell a lot of deep fried foods. There is deep fried bananas, deep fried fish, deep fried potatoes and chives, deep fried doughnuts and even deepfried bread. You can also buy candied peanuts and shredded coconut on the street and sugar cane to suck on. You can also buy fresh milk in the market before 8am which you have to boil before drinking... and small shops sell homemade yogurt which is to die for. So tasty. The cheese, coming from a wisconsinite, leaves a lot to be desired and is the only thing I miss besides cold milk and cereal. I have been forced to learn how to cook and its been a painful yet fruitful experience. I am slowly learning to be fully independent and can't wait to go back to the states and use my new skills!!!

Another journal entry....I currently sit in my bed with a candle lit on my table because the electicity has gone out for the second time now. It's actually quite romantical and it makes my fort-like room feel even more magical. My wooden walls and ceiling are shadowed with speckled light from within my mosquito net and I wish i could stay like this forever. Speaking of magic, I saw a rainbow today and I was able to see the beginning and end of it. It was amazing! I have also enjoyed the amazing portraits drawn across the sky every evening as the sun sets. The pink, orange and purples are vivid and dance as they reflect of off the clouds and rice paddies. I have been amazingly happy here, despite how much I want to go home. I just have to keep in mind how this experience is making me love my family and friends more than ever. I miss them so much that its even hard to describe in words. I have already missed my friend giving birth, my friend get engaged, and will miss the birth of my first neice or nephew and the first year of its life. Its hard to handle. but then I wake up some days and say... Holy crap, I'm in madagascar. I'm living alone in across the world, speaking another language... learning how to cook for myself... wash clothes.. and I'm surviving. Its all a huge thing to accomplish, and all of the emials and letters from back home help to reassure me of that. This is amazing and i will be able to do anythign and everythign I ever would want to when I get back to the US. I can't believe I couldn't even call people on the phone wtihout being scared. Life is new and exciting adn challenging everyday here.. I just hope that some people can come and experience this with me here so I can show them whats its like to live here since its so hard to explain.

Another journal entry....I currently sit in my bed with a candle lit on my table because the electicity has gone out for the second time now. It's actually quite romantical and it makes my fort-like room feel even more magical. My wooden walls and ceiling are shadowed with speckled light from within my mosquito net and I wish i could stay like this forever. Speaking of magic, I saw a rainbow today and I was able to see the beginning and end of it. It was amazing! I have also enjoyed the amazing portraits drawn across the sky every evening as the sun sets. The pink, orange and purples are vivid and dance as they reflect of off the clouds and rice paddies. I have been amazingly happy here, despite how much I want to go home. I just have to keep in mind how this experience is making me love my family and friends more than ever. I miss them so much that its even hard to describe in words. I have already missed my friend giving birth, my friend get engaged, and will miss the birth of my first neice or nephew and the first year of its life. Its hard to handle. but then I wake up some days and say... Holy crap, I'm in madagascar. I'm living alone in across the world, speaking another language... learning how to cook for myself... wash clothes.. and I'm surviving. Its all a huge thing to accomplish, and all of the emials and letters from back home help to reassure me of that. This is amazing and i will be able to do anythign and everythign I ever would want to when I get back to the US. I can't believe I couldn't even call people on the phone wtihout being scared. Life is new and exciting adn challenging everyday here.. I just hope that some people can come and experience this with me here so I can show them whats its like to live here since its so hard to explain.

Here is a little taste (you like that pun?) of the food I eat daily....So, Malagasy people eat a lot of rice; actually of any culture in the world, they eat the most per capita, even more than china!! They typically eat 1/2 kg or uncooked rice per person per day!! They eat rice three times a day, everyday. They usually have it with a sidedish called a "loaka" and sometimes a third salad type thing to put on rice called a "lasary". They eat all three meals wtih their family and get a 2-3 hour lunch break from school to go home and eat lunch. All of their food is made from fresh foods they get at the market everyday. There is even a verb that means "to go to the market". Most peoples daily small talk is about what kind of sidedish they will have wth their rice. Will it be beans and pork? Or green beans and beef? Or water cress and peanuts, which is absolute favorite!!! I rule at making it. The lasarys are either tomatoe, carrot, or cucumber.. and all are chopped up veggies wtih a vinegerette dressing. I absolutely love the tomato kind, and actually crave it now... along with rice. Most malagasy say that it is impossible to be full after a meal if rice was not served. So... after starting a charcol-ish fire.. actually its charbone.... wood that is burried and burned underground until the outside creates a charcol-ish looking outside.... and they put it on a brickish small fire burner that sits on the ground. This is always the first part of the cooknig process.. except for me who is living the high life wtih a three burner countertop gas stove (no oven). Then the wife or daughther prepares the sidedish by cutting up meat, onions, garlic and cooking in a big metal pot. They she cleans and prepares the vegetables and adds them to the cooked meat. While it finishes cooking the rice needs to be prepared. First you add kapokas "cups" of rice to a flat saucer shaped thing made out of straw type material. Then you shake it so you can pick out the seeds, rocks, and bad rice. Then you was the rice wtih water and add it to a pot and cook it for 30 minutes. The rice is in one bowl, the loaka in another and the lasary in a third as they are set out on the table to eat. My host family, and most people I have met here, pray before dinner. After the rice is taken out of the pot, the pot is put back on the burner to burn the rice and water is added and boiled to make a drink called "ranomapango" which is literally burnt rice water. It is the only thing that typical malagasy people drink, EVER!! They don't drink during meals.. which was a hard thing to adjust to.. but they have reason for it because they drink this type of water because they know it is healthy drinknig water since its been boiled. In my area of the country, there are tons of vegetables to buy... I LOVE going tot he market to pick out my loaka for the day. Tomatoes are plentiful here.. and cheap and delicious. I also have a lot of carrots, beans, zucchini, cucumbers, peas, green beans, cabbage, lettuce, and many types of water cress. My area of the country is also famous for its fish. The fish here are huge.... and I've seen many a malagasy save the best part of the fish for last: the head. The only part of the fish they don't eat is the bones. They eat the skin, fins, eyes, head.... everythign but the scales and bones. It takes me FOREVER to pick out all of the bones, but the taste of the fish meat, once finally in my mouth is well worth the effort. There are also tons of peanuts here, bananas, mandarine oranges, pineapple, coconuts (out of this world tasty), potatoes, and the one french import....loafs of bread. Baguettes to be exact. They are always stale... and there is no wheat bread, but it I'll take what I can get. The little street food vendors sell a lot of deep fried foods. There is deep fried bananas, deep fried fish, deep fried potatoes and chives, deep fried doughnuts and even deepfried bread. You can also buy candied peanuts and shredded coconut on the street and sugar cane to suck on. You can also buy fresh milk in the market before 8am which you have to boil before drinking... and small shops sell homemade yogurt which is to die for. So tasty. The cheese, coming from a wisconsinite, leaves a lot to be desired and is the only thing I miss besides cold milk and cereal. I have been forced to learn how to cook and its been a painful yet fruitful experience. I am slowly learning to be fully independent and can't wait to go back to the states and use my new skills!!!

Another journal entry....I currently sit in my bed with a candle lit on my table because the electicity has gone out for the second time now. It's actually quite romantical and it makes my fort-like room feel even more magical. My wooden walls and ceiling are shadowed with speckled light from within my mosquito net and I wish i could stay like this forever. Speaking of magic, I saw a rainbow today and I was able to see the beginning and end of it. It was amazing! I have also enjoyed the amazing portraits drawn across the sky every evening as the sun sets. The pink, orange and purples are vivid and dance as they reflect of off the clouds and rice paddies. I have been amazingly happy here, despite how much I want to go home. I just have to keep in mind how this experience is making me love my family and friends more than ever. I miss them so much that its even hard to describe in words. I have already missed my friend giving birth, my friend get engaged, and will miss the birth of my first neice or nephew and the first year of its life. Its hard to handle. but then I wake up some days and say... Holy crap, I'm in madagascar. I'm living alone in across the world, speaking another language... learning how to cook for myself... wash clothes.. and I'm surviving. Its all a huge thing to accomplish, and all of the emials and letters from back home help to reassure me of that. This is amazing and i will be able to do anythign and everythign I ever would want to when I get back to the US. I can't believe I couldn't even call people on the phone wtihout being scared. Life is new and exciting adn challenging everyday here.. I just hope that some people can come and experience this with me here so I can show them whats its like to live here since its so hard to explain.

Here are some journal entries from a while ago. Sunday, July 29:Today was a crazy day. I woke up at 5am to leave for Ivato near the airport wtih my host family. We left in a pickup truck with a wooden frame attached to the back truckbed and a tarp cover. We all sat in the back of the truck for an hour long ride going over crazy bumps, and inhaling tons of black exhaust. My host sisters cousin and her infant sibling both puked. Twice each. Yes, I said infant. The first time she puked in a hat.. the second off the back of the truck. After driving 45 mins we stopped to pick up 15 more family members while the grandma peed on the side of the road. Now on our way, we had 6 new babies on board.. and 25 poeple total in the back of the truck. Picture people sitting on each other, while women breast feed their babhies while going over huge bumps and dips on a horrible secondary road. When we finally arrived to our destination I was extremely surprised I hadn't puked myself. We were headed to a famadihana, which is a turning of the bones ceremony here in the highlands of madagascar. We walked up to the extended families house and were hurried into a dining room wtih a super long table and seated. Each family introduced themselves to remind them all of who they were.. since there are SO many relatives here. Think Christmas on my mom's side of the family... times 4. I was introduced with my family and everyone was eager to greet me, and some children were scared I was going to eat them... seriously. Some poeple here tell their kids that white people will eat them if they don't behave. I haven't been that hungry yet though. KIDDING! So, we were served a huge mound of rice each person and then a laddle of broth and chunks of beef, which were mostly peices of fat. They love to eat the fat here.. its crazy. So they slaughter tons of cows or pigs for these events and then cook it in oil and its the traditional meal. So everyone ate and went outside to watch the start of the band. THe band consisited of a male ensemble of trumpets, clarinets, and drum players. They played songs while people danced around a table that had a white cloth on it. Two pictures of people were sitting on the table to honor the ancestors they were having the famadihana for. So for about three hours we sat and watched poeple dance around the box while holding up the pics and new lambas they had bought for the ancestors. When one of the alive relatives dreams about an ancestor who tells them they are cold, they throw this huge party to bring them cloth to warm them up. Finally they decided to walk to the tomb.. and a parade like procession danced the entire way there. The music was still played once at the tomb and after a short speech, the males started digging for the entrance oft he tomb. ONce opened.. they took out the bodies of the ancestors, one by one. You could see the hair and outline of the bones through the old cloth. A group of people would be singing andf dancing as they started to rewrap the bodies in their new cloth. I decided not too get too close, and actually was pretty freaked out.. and amazed at the same time. After they were tightly wrapped.. they put them on their shoulders and danced around the tomb 6 times for good luck. Then they brought them back into the tomb and said their wishes to them. This entire thing lasted about 6 hours. It was definitely a surreal experience.. and I am extremely fortunate to have experienced it. The entire day was filled wtih happiness and joy.. no sorrow... and all of the elderly relatives were even up and dancing!! This is practiced mainly on the highlands and costs the host family a lot of money to host. Each family that comes has to bring a gift of money to help buy cloths and pay for the food. It is an opportunity to ask ancestors for advice about living peoples lives and to see relatives that live far away. It is a large part of the Merina tradiation.

Here are some journal entries from a while ago. Sunday, July 29:Today was a crazy day. I woke up at 5am to leave for Ivato near the airport wtih my host family. We left in a pickup truck with a wooden frame attached to the back truckbed and a tarp cover. We all sat in the back of the truck for an hour long ride going over crazy bumps, and inhaling tons of black exhaust. My host sisters cousin and her infant sibling both puked. Twice each. Yes, I said infant. The first time she puked in a hat.. the second off the back of the truck. After driving 45 mins we stopped to pick up 15 more family members while the grandma peed on the side of the road. Now on our way, we had 6 new babies on board.. and 25 poeple total in the back of the truck. Picture people sitting on each other, while women breast feed their babhies while going over huge bumps and dips on a horrible secondary road. When we finally arrived to our destination I was extremely surprised I hadn't puked myself. We were headed to a famadihana, which is a turning of the bones ceremony here in the highlands of madagascar. We walked up to the extended families house and were hurried into a dining room wtih a super long table and seated. Each family introduced themselves to remind them all of who they were.. since there are SO many relatives here. Think Christmas on my mom's side of the family... times 4. I was introduced with my family and everyone was eager to greet me, and some children were scared I was going to eat them... seriously. Some poeple here tell their kids that white people will eat them if they don't behave. I haven't been that hungry yet though. KIDDING! So, we were served a huge mound of rice each person and then a laddle of broth and chunks of beef, which were mostly peices of fat. They love to eat the fat here.. its crazy. So they slaughter tons of cows or pigs for these events and then cook it in oil and its the traditional meal. So everyone ate and went outside to watch the start of the band. THe band consisited of a male ensemble of trumpets, clarinets, and drum players. They played songs while people danced around a table that had a white cloth on it. Two pictures of people were sitting on the table to honor the ancestors they were having the famadihana for. So for about three hours we sat and watched poeple dance around the box while holding up the pics and new lambas they had bought for the ancestors. When one of the alive relatives dreams about an ancestor who tells them they are cold, they throw this huge party to bring them cloth to warm them up. Finally they decided to walk to the tomb.. and a parade like procession danced the entire way there. The music was still played once at the tomb and after a short speech, the males started digging for the entrance oft he tomb. ONce opened.. they took out the bodies of the ancestors, one by one. You could see the hair and outline of the bones through the old cloth. A group of people would be singing andf dancing as they started to rewrap the bodies in their new cloth. I decided not too get too close, and actually was pretty freaked out.. and amazed at the same time. After they were tightly wrapped.. they put them on their shoulders and danced around the tomb 6 times for good luck. Then they brought them back into the tomb and said their wishes to them. This entire thing lasted about 6 hours. It was definitely a surreal experience.. and I am extremely fortunate to have experienced it. The entire day was filled wtih happiness and joy.. no sorrow... and all of the elderly relatives were even up and dancing!! This is practiced mainly on the highlands and costs the host family a lot of money to host. Each family that comes has to bring a gift of money to help buy cloths and pay for the food. It is an opportunity to ask ancestors for advice about living peoples lives and to see relatives that live far away. It is a large part of the Merina tradiation.

Here are some journal entries from a while ago. Sunday, July 29:Today was a crazy day. I woke up at 5am to leave for Ivato near the airport wtih my host family. We left in a pickup truck with a wooden frame attached to the back truckbed and a tarp cover. We all sat in the back of the truck for an hour long ride going over crazy bumps, and inhaling tons of black exhaust. My host sisters cousin and her infant sibling both puked. Twice each. Yes, I said infant. The first time she puked in a hat.. the second off the back of the truck. After driving 45 mins we stopped to pick up 15 more family members while the grandma peed on the side of the road. Now on our way, we had 6 new babies on board.. and 25 poeple total in the back of the truck. Picture people sitting on each other, while women breast feed their babhies while going over huge bumps and dips on a horrible secondary road. When we finally arrived to our destination I was extremely surprised I hadn't puked myself. We were headed to a famadihana, which is a turning of the bones ceremony here in the highlands of madagascar. We walked up to the extended families house and were hurried into a dining room wtih a super long table and seated. Each family introduced themselves to remind them all of who they were.. since there are SO many relatives here. Think Christmas on my mom's side of the family... times 4. I was introduced with my family and everyone was eager to greet me, and some children were scared I was going to eat them... seriously. Some poeple here tell their kids that white people will eat them if they don't behave. I haven't been that hungry yet though. KIDDING! So, we were served a huge mound of rice each person and then a laddle of broth and chunks of beef, which were mostly peices of fat. They love to eat the fat here.. its crazy. So they slaughter tons of cows or pigs for these events and then cook it in oil and its the traditional meal. So everyone ate and went outside to watch the start of the band. THe band consisited of a male ensemble of trumpets, clarinets, and drum players. They played songs while people danced around a table that had a white cloth on it. Two pictures of people were sitting on the table to honor the ancestors they were having the famadihana for. So for about three hours we sat and watched poeple dance around the box while holding up the pics and new lambas they had bought for the ancestors. When one of the alive relatives dreams about an ancestor who tells them they are cold, they throw this huge party to bring them cloth to warm them up. Finally they decided to walk to the tomb.. and a parade like procession danced the entire way there. The music was still played once at the tomb and after a short speech, the males started digging for the entrance oft he tomb. ONce opened.. they took out the bodies of the ancestors, one by one. You could see the hair and outline of the bones through the old cloth. A group of people would be singing andf dancing as they started to rewrap the bodies in their new cloth. I decided not too get too close, and actually was pretty freaked out.. and amazed at the same time. After they were tightly wrapped.. they put them on their shoulders and danced around the tomb 6 times for good luck. Then they brought them back into the tomb and said their wishes to them. This entire thing lasted about 6 hours. It was definitely a surreal experience.. and I am extremely fortunate to have experienced it. The entire day was filled wtih happiness and joy.. no sorrow... and all of the elderly relatives were even up and dancing!! This is practiced mainly on the highlands and costs the host family a lot of money to host. Each family that comes has to bring a gift of money to help buy cloths and pay for the food. It is an opportunity to ask ancestors for advice about living peoples lives and to see relatives that live far away. It is a large part of the Merina tradiation.

Salama!! I want to start off by apologizing for not writing more often on this thing. Its not exactly my fault though. I would more so blame the fact that there are no well paved roads, internet access, or general infrastructure in madagascar. But thats not a good reason... ha. So, basically.. I have decided that I will write more blogs based on themes because so much has gone already that its really hard to explain it all. I will write them all out first, then transfer them to what the kids call, the internet. For now, let me just say a few general observations....I feel like I have been here for four years, and even if I went home now that I would be a changed person.I become an official volunteer on Tuesday.. no more of this trainee crap. PCV, here I come. The language is amazing here.... I love using it and learning it. I hope to become fluent.I am getting a puppy. Another PCV has a neighbor whose dog just had 9 puppies. In order to get the puppy from the owner.. it is tradition to first give the owner a knife in exchange. Don't ask me why. All I know is that soon, I shall have a puppy, and he shall have a knife.I feel like anything and everything I do in the future will be easy compared to what I am overcoming right now. Aint' no mountain high enough..... ain't no river wide enough.I know that I am not profound here.. but I'm exhausted.. done with training... and extremely nervous to be dropped off at my new home in less than four days. I will ride in a peace corps vehicle to my site... they will help me buy a wooden bed, foam mattress, small table, chair.. and a gas camping stove. Then, they will leave and it will be me and my stuff... and it will be up to me to forge relationships wtih people in my community and find friends. I have been told a million times by numerous other volunteers.... the first three months suck. You WILL be lonely. You will cry.. You will write a million letters and get none from back home. You will read tons.. but FORCE yourself to go outside and use the little language you have to create relationships... and that is what I will have to do. The school year starts Sept 11 here... so after 10 days.. I will be busy with teaching, grading.. and the like. But, I encourage all of you to send me letters, no matter how insignificant you think the news is, because for me, it keeps me going. I shall soon explan my life.. I promise.. right now.. I have to figure it all out and translate it to a language you will all understand. Peace.

Salama!! I want to start off by apologizing for not writing more often on this thing. Its not exactly my fault though. I would more so blame the fact that there are no well paved roads, internet access, or general infrastructure in madagascar. But thats not a good reason... ha. So, basically.. I have decided that I will write more blogs based on themes because so much has gone already that its really hard to explain it all. I will write them all out first, then transfer them to what the kids call, the internet. For now, let me just say a few general observations....I feel like I have been here for four years, and even if I went home now that I would be a changed person.I become an official volunteer on Tuesday.. no more of this trainee crap. PCV, here I come. The language is amazing here.... I love using it and learning it. I hope to become fluent.I am getting a puppy. Another PCV has a neighbor whose dog just had 9 puppies. In order to get the puppy from the owner.. it is tradition to first give the owner a knife in exchange. Don't ask me why. All I know is that soon, I shall have a puppy, and he shall have a knife.I feel like anything and everything I do in the future will be easy compared to what I am overcoming right now. Aint' no mountain high enough..... ain't no river wide enough.I know that I am not profound here.. but I'm exhausted.. done with training... and extremely nervous to be dropped off at my new home in less than four days. I will ride in a peace corps vehicle to my site... they will help me buy a wooden bed, foam mattress, small table, chair.. and a gas camping stove. Then, they will leave and it will be me and my stuff... and it will be up to me to forge relationships wtih people in my community and find friends. I have been told a million times by numerous other volunteers.... the first three months suck. You WILL be lonely. You will cry.. You will write a million letters and get none from back home. You will read tons.. but FORCE yourself to go outside and use the little language you have to create relationships... and that is what I will have to do. The school year starts Sept 11 here... so after 10 days.. I will be busy with teaching, grading.. and the like. But, I encourage all of you to send me letters, no matter how insignificant you think the news is, because for me, it keeps me going. I shall soon explan my life.. I promise.. right now.. I have to figure it all out and translate it to a language you will all understand. Peace.

Salama!! I want to start off by apologizing for not writing more often on this thing. Its not exactly my fault though. I would more so blame the fact that there are no well paved roads, internet access, or general infrastructure in madagascar. But thats not a good reason... ha. So, basically.. I have decided that I will write more blogs based on themes because so much has gone already that its really hard to explain it all. I will write them all out first, then transfer them to what the kids call, the internet. For now, let me just say a few general observations....I feel like I have been here for four years, and even if I went home now that I would be a changed person.I become an official volunteer on Tuesday.. no more of this trainee crap. PCV, here I come. The language is amazing here.... I love using it and learning it. I hope to become fluent.I am getting a puppy. Another PCV has a neighbor whose dog just had 9 puppies. In order to get the puppy from the owner.. it is tradition to first give the owner a knife in exchange. Don't ask me why. All I know is that soon, I shall have a puppy, and he shall have a knife.I feel like anything and everything I do in the future will be easy compared to what I am overcoming right now. Aint' no mountain high enough..... ain't no river wide enough.I know that I am not profound here.. but I'm exhausted.. done with training... and extremely nervous to be dropped off at my new home in less than four days. I will ride in a peace corps vehicle to my site... they will help me buy a wooden bed, foam mattress, small table, chair.. and a gas camping stove. Then, they will leave and it will be me and my stuff... and it will be up to me to forge relationships wtih people in my community and find friends. I have been told a million times by numerous other volunteers.... the first three months suck. You WILL be lonely. You will cry.. You will write a million letters and get none from back home. You will read tons.. but FORCE yourself to go outside and use the little language you have to create relationships... and that is what I will have to do. The school year starts Sept 11 here... so after 10 days.. I will be busy with teaching, grading.. and the like. But, I encourage all of you to send me letters, no matter how insignificant you think the news is, because for me, it keeps me going. I shall soon explan my life.. I promise.. right now.. I have to figure it all out and translate it to a language you will all understand. Peace.

It has just occured to me that I leave in exactly 1 month. This is getting real, and I love it. All I can think is, "Finally!" I have thought about my departure for so long. I have been out of college for a year now, but it seems like 3. Even though I have absolutely loved living with the Silber's this past year, I have also had a nagging thought in the back of my mind, wondering when I would get to start the rest of my life. Graduating from college had been an exciting life change, especially after my trip to Italy with Megan. But soon after, the excitement dulled down and became life without a future in sight. That scared me, and pushed me to focus on the Peace Corps process. I have been driven to do this, and have not been able to visualize my life without it. I feel like I have been slowly moving away from being dependent on people... especially my friends. I don't talk to anyone everyday.. I don't have a constant in my life. But for now, thats a good thing, because I won't miss that constant once I'm gone. I am actually surprised at how much I have adapted to this, since I used to be so attached to people and needy of others to make me feel happy. Now, I could go without seeing people, and not even be phased. I am completely ready to move on with my life right now. I was so scared that I would be stuck in a place where I couldn't see change or improvement.. and I have finally moved on from this. I can see where my future is headed, and it feels great. Its amazing how suffocatingly scary it is to not be progressing in my life. I know that I will never be able to settle in my life, its just not for me. I want to travel the world, and constantly improve myself. I think that my obsession with this goal has allowed me to actually be successful with it. Dream it, in order to be it? I guess I see some validity in that statement now. If I had doubted my abilities or desire to do this at all, I probably wouldn't have accomplished it. Its good to dream.. but even greater when they come true. A lot of people ask me why I want to do this, but I know that if they even have to ask that question, it will be hard for them to understand my reasonings. Its a difference in the way we see life. I want to live my life constantly progressing... learning as much as possible, experiencing as many culutures as possible, seeing as many places in the world as possible, meeting as many people as possible, being exposed to as many ways of living as possible. All of this is surpassed only by my belief that I need to give as much of myself as physically and mentallly possible to help others. Thats how I see life. Thats how I see my role in this world. Its hard for me to understand any other way to live.. but then again, its hard for others to understand the way I want to live. I have come to realize that I will surround myself with those who believe in my way to live life, and it makes sense. Having the same outlook of life creates a deep connection between people. Its just so easier when someone can truly understand you.

Anyways, my obsession with the travel channel can now end. I can stop living vicarilously through other peoples adventures, and start living my own. It's time. Take a deep breath. Here comes an experience of a lifetime.. with hopefully more to follow.

It has just occured to me that I leave in exactly 1 month. This is getting real, and I love it. All I can think is, "Finally!" I have thought about my departure for so long. I have been out of college for a year now, but it seems like 3. Even though I have absolutely loved living with the Silber's this past year, I have also had a nagging thought in the back of my mind, wondering when I would get to start the rest of my life. Graduating from college had been an exciting life change, especially after my trip to Italy with Megan. But soon after, the excitement dulled down and became life without a future in sight. That scared me, and pushed me to focus on the Peace Corps process. I have been driven to do this, and have not been able to visualize my life without it. I feel like I have been slowly moving away from being dependent on people... especially my friends. I don't talk to anyone everyday.. I don't have a constant in my life. But for now, thats a good thing, because I won't miss that constant once I'm gone. I am actually surprised at how much I have adapted to this, since I used to be so attached to people and needy of others to make me feel happy. Now, I could go without seeing people, and not even be phased. I am completely ready to move on with my life right now. I was so scared that I would be stuck in a place where I couldn't see change or improvement.. and I have finally moved on from this. I can see where my future is headed, and it feels great. Its amazing how suffocatingly scary it is to not be progressing in my life. I know that I will never be able to settle in my life, its just not for me. I want to travel the world, and constantly improve myself. I think that my obsession with this goal has allowed me to actually be successful with it. Dream it, in order to be it? I guess I see some validity in that statement now. If I had doubted my abilities or desire to do this at all, I probably wouldn't have accomplished it. Its good to dream.. but even greater when they come true. A lot of people ask me why I want to do this, but I know that if they even have to ask that question, it will be hard for them to understand my reasonings. Its a difference in the way we see life. I want to live my life constantly progressing... learning as much as possible, experiencing as many culutures as possible, seeing as many places in the world as possible, meeting as many people as possible, being exposed to as many ways of living as possible. All of this is surpassed only by my belief that I need to give as much of myself as physically and mentallly possible to help others. Thats how I see life. Thats how I see my role in this world. Its hard for me to understand any other way to live.. but then again, its hard for others to understand the way I want to live. I have come to realize that I will surround myself with those who believe in my way to live life, and it makes sense. Having the same outlook of life creates a deep connection between people. Its just so easier when someone can truly understand you.

Anyways, my obsession with the travel channel can now end. I can stop living vicarilously through other peoples adventures, and start living my own. It's time. Take a deep breath. Here comes an experience of a lifetime.. with hopefully more to follow.

It has just occured to me that I leave in exactly 1 month. This is getting real, and I love it. All I can think is, "Finally!" I have thought about my departure for so long. I have been out of college for a year now, but it seems like 3. Even though I have absolutely loved living with the Silber's this past year, I have also had a nagging thought in the back of my mind, wondering when I would get to start the rest of my life. Graduating from college had been an exciting life change, especially after my trip to Italy with Megan. But soon after, the excitement dulled down and became life without a future in sight. That scared me, and pushed me to focus on the Peace Corps process. I have been driven to do this, and have not been able to visualize my life without it. I feel like I have been slowly moving away from being dependent on people... especially my friends. I don't talk to anyone everyday.. I don't have a constant in my life. But for now, thats a good thing, because I won't miss that constant once I'm gone. I am actually surprised at how much I have adapted to this, since I used to be so attached to people and needy of others to make me feel happy. Now, I could go without seeing people, and not even be phased. I am completely ready to move on with my life right now. I was so scared that I would be stuck in a place where I couldn't see change or improvement.. and I have finally moved on from this. I can see where my future is headed, and it feels great. Its amazing how suffocatingly scary it is to not be progressing in my life. I know that I will never be able to settle in my life, its just not for me. I want to travel the world, and constantly improve myself. I think that my obsession with this goal has allowed me to actually be successful with it. Dream it, in order to be it? I guess I see some validity in that statement now. If I had doubted my abilities or desire to do this at all, I probably wouldn't have accomplished it. Its good to dream.. but even greater when they come true. A lot of people ask me why I want to do this, but I know that if they even have to ask that question, it will be hard for them to understand my reasonings. Its a difference in the way we see life. I want to live my life constantly progressing... learning as much as possible, experiencing as many culutures as possible, seeing as many places in the world as possible, meeting as many people as possible, being exposed to as many ways of living as possible. All of this is surpassed only by my belief that I need to give as much of myself as physically and mentallly possible to help others. Thats how I see life. Thats how I see my role in this world. Its hard for me to understand any other way to live.. but then again, its hard for others to understand the way I want to live. I have come to realize that I will surround myself with those who believe in my way to live life, and it makes sense. Having the same outlook of life creates a deep connection between people. Its just so easier when someone can truly understand you.

Anyways, my obsession with the travel channel can now end. I can stop living vicarilously through other peoples adventures, and start living my own. It's time. Take a deep breath. Here comes an experience of a lifetime.. with hopefully more to follow.

Hello everyone! This is going to be my way of getting in touch with you all while I'm overseas. I will fill you in on my life here as a PCV in Madagascar as well as answer your questions. Staging: I will spend about three days in Washington, DC for orientation with the PC. Training: From June-August I will live just outside of Antananarivo with a host family. I will go through language, skills, cultural, and health training during this time. Volunteering: If I survive those three months, I will be sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer. I will then be assigned to some other location in the country. Once there, I will be teaching English to middle and high school-aged children. I will also take on a secondary project, which is yet to be determined. I LEAVE JUNE 13th!

Hello everyone! This is going to be my way of getting in touch with you all while I'm overseas. I will fill you in on my life here as a PCV in Madagascar as well as answer your questions. Staging: I will spend about three days in Washington, DC for orientation with the PC. Training: From June-August I will live just outside of Antananarivo with a host family. I will go through language, skills, cultural, and health training during this time. Volunteering: If I survive those three months, I will be sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer. I will then be assigned to some other location in the country. Once there, I will be teaching English to middle and high school-aged children. I will also take on a secondary project, which is yet to be determined. I LEAVE JUNE 13th!

Hello everyone! This is going to be my way of getting in touch with you all while I'm overseas. I will fill you in on my life here as a PCV in Madagascar as well as answer your questions. Staging: I will spend about three days in Washington, DC for orientation with the PC. Training: From June-August I will live just outside of Antananarivo with a host family. I will go through language, skills, cultural, and health training during this time. Volunteering: If I survive those three months, I will be sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer. I will then be assigned to some other location in the country. Once there, I will be teaching English to middle and high school-aged children. I will also take on a secondary project, which is yet to be determined. I LEAVE JUNE 13th!